Hot Gadget Hacks Posts
YouTube 101: How to Live Stream from Your Phone
YouTube's mobile live streaming feature is great for connecting with your audience in a more personal way than traditional videos provide. Audiences can view and respond to content in real time, and creators can do the same. While unfortunately not available to everyone — you need at least 100 subscribers — live streaming is possible, even with your smartphone.
News: Dalux Adapts Augmented Reality to Mobile for Construction Industry
HoloLens developers have created some useful solutions for visualizing building models and viewing construction plans overlaid on the job environment.
News: Zappar Pitches Baseball AR Mini-Game for Wise Snacks
Wise Snacks wants baseball fans to reach for potato chips instead of peanuts and Cracker Jacks, and it's calling augmented reality out of the bullpen to close the deal.
Have You Seen This?: The New & Improved Windows Mixed Reality Portal
For those of us on the fast ring of the Windows Insider Program — Microsoft's continual beta program for the Windows operating system — the constant updates can be a bit of a pain. But there is a trade-off. We get to try the new features long before they come out to the public. So if you like to see the new shinies before everyone else, and don't mind the sometimes two or three major updates in a week, then this is definitely the option for you.
News: Our B.I.R. (Blind Man-in-Residence) Immerses Self in Microsoft's New 'Seeing AI' App
Microsoft recently released "Seeing AI," an app aimed to help the blind understand their surroundings. As Microsoft puts it, "the app narrates the world around you by turning the visual world into an audible experience."
Apple AR: Luden.io Unveils 'AR Tribe' Mobile Game That Uses ARKit
Luden.io just revealed more details about their mobile game "AR Tribe," made using Apple's ARKit. The company has previously focused on VR games such as InMind 2 and VRobot. This is the company's first attempt at AR, and it looks like it's going to be pretty cool.
Market Reality: Augmented Reality Demonstrates Value for Business & Recreation
We continue to field stories underscoring the strong trends of Investment in augmented reality in various sectors. This week, one company strengthens their offerings to the enterprise sector, while two other companies capitalize on the promise presented by augmented reality to consumers – specifically, in gaming.
How To: Use VLC's Picture-in-Picture Mode on Android Oreo to Watch Videos While Multitasking
A new feature in Android O is making it incredibly easy to multitask while you're watching a video. It's called Picture-in-Picture mode, and if you've ever used a TV with this option, you should already have a pretty good idea of how it works.
News: Google Play Music's New Release Radio Works for Everyone
Google Play's newest feature may have once been exclusive, but it's now available for everyone. New Release Radio — a feature that provides you with a personalized playlist of new songs compiled based on your listening history — was originally released a month ago for Samsung devices. Now, it's available for all smartphone users with the Google Play Music app.
Review: Street Fighter IV Champion Edition Is a Knock Out
Full disclosure — I have almost zero Street Fighter experience. The first time I played the game was at Barcade, way back in ... 2017. Yes, to the shame of gamers everywhere, this reviewer is a Street Fighter noob.
News: Dining, Travel & … Smartphones? Groupon Now Offers Discounts on Unlocked Galaxy S8
As my fellow cheapskates know, Groupon is an oasis. From discounted vacations to reduced-price massages, it has — nearly — anything and everything. It's great for discounts on dining and travel, but I've never thought of it as a place to shop for smartphones ... until now.
News: If You're a Verizon Customer, This Recent Leak May Have Exposed Your Private Information
It seems like there's a cyber security scare every day. Consumers are growing increasingly concerned about the safety of their accounts, and they have reason to be. Hackers will maliciously attack you anywhere — and we mean anywhere — they can to get your private information.
Apple AR: Creepy Effects Make Surfaces Bubble & Boil
This man's effect using Apple ARKit is both really cool and really freaky. In his tweet, John van der Zwaag said that this "alters reality" rather than just adding to it.
Apple AR: Use Augmented Reality to Measure Rooms Without a Tape Measure
Measuring a room has never been so easy thanks to Apple's ARKit. SmartPicture 3D is known for its quick measurements based on pictures from your smartphone. Recently, they released a video of the company measuring a room using the ARKit.
Apple AR: JigSpace Shows You How Things Are Made Using AR
JigSpace, a company that uses 3D renderings to give instructions, showed off a fun new way to learn how things work using Apple's ARKit. The video released shows the anatomy of a range of things, including an espresso machine, an Archer Hb Plus chair, and the manual transmission of a car. Not to mention, they also used ARKit to show a 3D how-to of removing an iPhone's SIM card.
YouTube 101: How to Manage Your Search History & Clear Watched Videos
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get your mind out of the gutter. Search histories can and should be managed. Many folks are uncomfortable knowing that every video they click and every phrase they search is being recorded and saved, and YouTube is no exception.
Snapchat 101: How to Create & Use Your Own Personal Bitmoji
Bitmojis are not only a good way to personalize your Snapchat account, but also a really fun Snap addition to play around with. A bitmoji is basically like your little avatar, letting you design your mini-self whichever way that you desire.
News: DreamWorld Seeks to Dismiss Meta Lawsuit
Facing claims of misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential information by Meta Company, DreamWorld, led by Meta's former employee, Zhangyi "Kevin" Zhong, has fired back with a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
News: DAQRI Deploys Smart Helmet for Navy Gunners
Augmented reality headset maker DAQRI has collaborated with the US Navy to outfit the company's Smart Helmet device for use on battleships.
Twitter 101: How to Stop Getting Notifications from Anyone That You Don't Know
Twitter is a hotbed for abusive accounts. Because it's such an open app, strangers from all over the world can see your tweets. Obviously, not everyone agrees on everything, but sometimes things can escalate to the point where it's considered harassment from people you don't even know.
News: Facebook Messenger's 'Visabot' Can Help You Apply for Your Green Card
Getting your green card can be an extraordinarily complicated and difficult task. Often times it seems so daunting that it's hard to know where to begin. Thankfully, Facebook Messenger introduced "Visabot" last year, a chatbot in the app that helps with all things immigration. Now including applying for your green card.
News: Zently Takes on Venmo with New Bill-Splitting Feature
Zently — the mobile app for renters — is taking on Venmo with its newest feature. Traditionally used to automate rent payments, deliver rent checks for free, and communicate with your landlord, it now allows you to connect to your bank account and split bills with housemates. Following the addition of Zelle to several major banks apps — to allow users to transfer money to their contacts — the battle of the mobile payment apps is getting increasingly fierce. With this new update, Zently is als...
News: For Virgin Mobile Customers, Twitter Just Became Free-er
How can something get more free than free? Well, in the case of Twitter, Virgin Mobile found a way with its newest promotion. If you have a 4G plan with Virgin Mobile, you can now access Twitter from your smartphone without it counting towards your monthly data allowance.
News: Microsoft's 'Seeing AI' App Helps the Visually Impaired Through Narration
When the iPhone first came out, using them seemed like an impossibility to the visually impaired. Luckily, the iPhone now provides a multitude of resources to make sure that the visually impaired have accessibility to the phone.
YouTube 101: How to Upload Videos from Your Phone
What makes YouTube such a special platform is that anyone and everyone can upload their own content. Big players upload their videos to the same site that the little guy does.
How To: Disable Auto-Playing Videos in the iOS 11 App Store
Apple just jumped on the auto-play bandwagon with their revamped App Store in iOS 11. Now, when you visit an app or game page that has a video trailer, it will automatically play. This can not only get pretty annoying, but it can eat up your precious data. Luckily, there's a way to restrict these auto-playing videos to Wi-Fi only — or disable them altogether.
Twitter 101: How to Go Live Without Leaving the App
It seems that every major social media platform is adding a "Go live" feature to their apps lately. Twitter, in particular, has been at the forefront of the live broadcasting craze for quite some time now.
News: World of Tanks Is Bringing Us This Mind-Blowing AR Museum Attraction
Wargaming's World of Tanks — the popular multiplayer online war game — teamed up with The Tank Museum to create an augmented reality experience like no other. Alongside several German tanks that are part of the exhibit, visitors can use Microsoft HoloLens and Google Tango technology to explore a rare Stürmtiger tank inside and out.
YouTube 101: Is YouTube Red Worth It?
When Google announced YouTube Red — a paid monthly subscription service that disables advertising, among other perks — many of us thought "just use an ad blocker." But it isn't really that simple.
News: Become Fluent in Daenerys Targaryen's Mother Tongue Using the Duolingo App
"Valar morghulis." Don't know what that means? You should probably download Duolingo for Android or iPhone.
Brief Reality: Acura, L'Oréal Latest Brands to Buy into Augmented Reality
When it comes to differentiating from the competition, brands are continuing to leverage augmented reality to give consumers to the point that there are few "firsts" left to achieve in the marketplace. While L'Oreal jumps on the augmented reality bandwagon for cosmetics, Acura finds a new way to make augmented reality a spectacle in the automotive industry.
News: Apple Patents Light Field Cameras That Could Add AR to FaceTime
Apple continues to impress the AR world with game-changing innovations that add to their already incredible products. The company's most recent endeavor has been to plunge into the world of augmented reality with the announcement of their ARKit.
Snapchat 101: How to Unlock Hidden Filters & Lenses
There's nothing more fun than unlocking a hidden Snapchat filter or lens and beating everyone to that perfect first selfie. So when a new filter or lens comes out, like the current Uganda Knuckles one, it's always interesting to see how things will turn out.
YouTube 101: How to Manage Your Notifications
YouTube is nothing without its creators — the people who make the content worth visiting the site again and again. Many of us have favorite channels and creators we return to, but it can be difficult to keep track of all the new videos they make, as the alternative is to be plagued by unwanted notifications.
News: Meta Appoints Chief Revenue Officer
Augmented reality headset and software maker Meta Company announced today board member Joe Mikhail will serve as the company's chief revenue officer.
News: Travel the World for a Price You Can Afford with Wander
Ah, the sand between your feet, the sun on your skin, and the debt you're accumulating. However strong my sense of wanderlust may be, I still can't justify dropping thousands of dollars on a vacation. Fortunately, a new site — Wander — promises to help you book vacations that match your budget.
News: Defeat the Dreaded 'Sharknado' in the Franchise's New Mobile AR Game
The Sharknado franchise is, somehow, releasing a fifth movie "Sharknado 5: Global Swarming" (groan) next month. In anticipation of the film's release, the company has decided to create an augmented reality mobile game called, prepare yourself, "Sharknado: ShARkmented Reality".
News: Break Out of Your Comfort Zone with This News App
Following the most recent election, some argue that increasing political polarization is dividing Americans. A new app, called Read Across the Aisle, is aiming to combat this by encouraging users to read news from media outlets on both sides of the political spectrum.
Facebook 101: How to Upload Photos & Videos in HD
If you are a frequent poster on Facebook, then uploading your photos and videos in HD is essential for your viewers. There's nothing worse than realizing that the Boomerang you just uploaded is grainy and probably won't get any views.
News: AR Investor Says Apple ARKit Apps Face Same Challenges as Other Mobile Apps
In a recent series of tweets, investor and entrepreneur (and NR50 member) Amitt Mahajan summarized the challenges and opportunities for iOS developers looking to leverage Apple's ARKit for augmented reality experiences.